4/30/10

It's about the time... Only Music Left has been fun, but it's time for a change. Cutting over to a new blog is not an easy choice, let alone picking a new name, but this feels like the right time and the right move. This new blog will have "Pages" that allow me to make this more of a full-featured website than just a blog. As usual, it's not yet where i'd like it to be, but it's a start. Check it out:

Stephanie Nilles has just been added to this group. She's an amazing performer who can work those keys like few I've seen, and who has a wit and humor about her that makes her shows a pleasure to see. But with a little bit of pain - as it should be.

4/22/10

Hmm... Was really tempted to see the Bassnectar / Major Lazer show at the HOB this night, but opted for the free show at the Spot. I was walking into this show pretty blind to who Xiu Xiu was, and what they (he) sounded like. I'd been seeing his name around the blogosphere (this term still cracks me up), and figured what the hell.

Not quite what I was expecting. He was much darker... sort of clangy and chaotic. But some of the people there were *really* into it, singing every word. Not my thing, but that's what it's all about.

4/21/10

4/16/10

Could be interesting... though I have little faith that Apple could pull of something monumental with regards to pricing and accessibility - despite being an "empire." But from a Tech standpoint - kick-ass.

Apple patent reveals concert ticketing plans

The latest Apple patent to hint at its future music plans is for a service called Concert Ticket, which would take the form of an iPhone and desktop application.

It’s described as an “iTunes based web service for tickets that will naturally enhance the iTunes music empire”. It includes e-tickets distributed to the handset, maps to the event, song lyrics, the ability to buy a live recording of the gig, virtual coupons for free drinks, and social features to find other fans at the concert.

4/15/10

Cleveland's own Kickdrums have been a favorite of mine for some time... Though I haven't had the pleasure of seeing them yet. I've been meaning to post this video for a couple weeks now, but today is the day. Particularly because I also just found out that they are offering up a 3 volume mix-tape called the Indio Sessions (Coachella). Dont' really have much of a story behind it - but it's got some amazing artists. And if they mixed this as well as they mix their own stuff - watch out: http://thekickdrums.bandcamp.com/

Kickdrums Make a Three-Part Mixtape

Cleveland's supercool DJ team the Kickdrums have just released a three-part mixtape called The Indio Sessions.

The mixes, which you can downlaod here, are based on the Coachella music fest, so there's plenty of music-snob-approved tunes and artists.

MGMT, Passion Pit, Spoon and Yeasayer all make appearances.

Seriously — you should go download them now. You'll be cooler than Hipster Kitty.—Michael Gallucci (follow me on Twitter @mgallucci)

The one thing I've been waiting on forever, is for MySpace to take advantage of their Event listings for all their bands. Even though I rarely use MySpace personally, it's still my go-to source for listening to music for some new band I want to check out. The number of bands on there is staggering, and so is their concert data. Finally, I'm now able to see every MySpace event listing in the area... Not that I needed the ability to discover and attend more shows... http://events.myspace.com/

MySpace Launches Events & Ticketing Platform

How does MySpace plan to stop the outward flow of traffic to Facebook and Twitter. Apparently, by connecting with them and an ongoing series of launches rather than a single splashy makeover. And today's announcement might have actually given artists and music marketers a reason to keep their MySpace profiles more up to date.

Late on Wednesday, the social networker unveiled MySpace Events, a calendar and ticketing platform that allows artists and fans to create and share events. Each event appears inside the user's MySpace calendar, including any from Facebook thanks to a growing implementation of Facebook Connect; and they can be shared on their MySpace Stream, Facebook pages, on Twitter, and via tiny url.

4/10/10

It's funny how I've tried talking myself out of seeing these Swedish bands, but just couldn't resist. The same thing happened with this Love Is All performance Easter Sunday. After gorging at dinner, I wasn't really excited about a late Sunday night performance. Then again, there was another local opener that I was interested in seeing. Earlier in the day, before hiding eggs, I checked out the openers and saw that Cloud Nothings were catching some nice national press. Hmm... tempting.

The show was extremely impressive.

I then listened to Love Is All for the whole care ride home to Cleveland and enjoyed each song more, every time I heard it. These guys have a little grittier sound than their Swedish counterparts, Little Dragon. But both have empassioned female lead singers... Not many people were at this show, but that didn't stop the band from giving their all. This also allowed me to get closer to the stage than I normally would. Not so good for the ability to hear the next day, but totally worth it. One of these days I'll remember my ear plugs.

Third concert night in a row, and it's been a good run. Seabear is from Iceland, and I'm beginning to realize just how much I like these foreign / northern bands. The music has been phenomenal, and the accents are just a treat.

I first got connected to Seabear through a side project of frontman, Sindri Mar Sigfusson, called Sin Fan Bous. That album is probably one of my favorite albums in the last year. Seabear just released their second album (We Built a Fire) and I'd highly recommend them, especially if you're a fan of bands like The Shins.

After having just seen Passion Pit the previous night, and planning on seeing Seabear the next night, I really considered skipping out on Little Dragon. But the more I listened to their album, the more I liked it.

Helping to tip the scale was Cleveland's own The Sleeps opening. I had an older CD of theirs that that had slowly grown on me, and I was curious to see what they sounded like live. I'd be very excited to have a good, local electronica-type band. Their blacklight stage presence was trippy and a bit distracting, but that wasn't a bad thing. These guys have good thing started, just need a little more polish. They're on a good track.

But talking about polished.... Little Dragon did not disappoint! They performance was slick, spirited and energetic. I'm also a kind of sucker for the Swedes.

Check out a couple of my favorite songs. I'd see these guys again in a heartbeat.

4/9/10

A little over a year ago, I was watching Passion Pit perform at The Spot, with only a couple dozen people in attendance. Now they're playing a sold out performance at the House of Blues. Good for them. I think they're a fun band, definitely worth keeping an eye on. I can't say I'm as excited about Manners as I was about their first EP (Chunk of Change). But they're good enough for me to plan on getting whatever they put out next (the reissue of Manners doesn't count).

Hanging back for this show wasn't the way to go. To really have enjoyed this show, you needed to be in "the pit," and probably intoxicated. Next time.

4/8/10

The Big Pink was kind of a gamble for me... I really enjoyed the sound and imagery of their Dominos and Velvet videos. They have a rather dense, electronic sound, but still with some pop sensibility. As the show approached, more friends were talking about A Place to Bury Strangers - even questioning why they weren't the headliners. I should have spent some more time with them before the show.

A Place to Bury Strangers took the dark stage, barely allowing you the ability to see them. Unfortunately the sound made it difficult to hear them as well - at least the vocals. Everything else was turned UP. Those who know more than me about them agreed, and said they didn't sound quite right. All in all, I enjoyed the performance.

The Big Pink was also good. A little better on the vocals. They sounded as I expected. Maybe a little heavier on the jam, but that was welcomed. Some people in the party didn't like them as much as the openers, but they landed pretty evenly in my book.

4/6/10

I can't say enough nice things about Ben Sollee. He's so adorable and talented. This time, he brought some of his adorable and talented friends with him, touring on his new collaboration album called Dear Companion. But first, opening was Family of the Year, an LA band that I first saw open for Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros at the Kent State Folk Festival. This time, they were a little more casual, and quite enjoyable. A nice opener for Ben & company.

Ben & Daniel took the stage with a woman on violin, guitar and vocals, and a guy on drums. The four of these guys were pitch perfect in their performance. Their voices and instruments just blended seamlessly, but also provided an exciting dynamic to solid songwriting. The show was impeccable. Ben just owns that cello.

My favorite song on the album... (you can find the rest of the videos from this performance here)

I feel lucky to have caught this performance. Titus Andronicus did a promotional, free, record store tour for the release of their new album, The Monitor. I hadn't even had a chance to hear the album yet, but had a feeling this would be a good show. And it was.

You should know by now that Tom Evanchuck is one of my favorite local performers... This was another night at the Barking Spider. This time was actually able to bring a group of people with me. Unfortunately, this performance wasn't as smooth as usual - but thoroughly enjoyable as always.

It's actually been a not quite a year since I've seen Ani - who is probably the person who I've seen in concert the most. I wasn't expecting to see her two nights in a row, as she originally only booked the Kent Stage show. Tickets were purchased. Then a couple weeks later, she booked Oberlin's Finney Chapel, which was a must-see location. Two nights in a row it would be.

Kent Stage was nice. Had decent seats. I got in the door just as Erin McKeown was finishing up with a cover of Beyonce's "Single Ladies." Wha? Unfortunately the security was militant about no photos, but was able to sneak the one below.

Ani's performance was good. Lots of new stuff as usual, and her new songs are sounding really good.

The next next night in Oberlin, we were able to catch all of Erin's set, which I'm really glad we did. Her new album (out on Righteous Babe) is really growing on me, more so than any albums prior.

Ani mixed up the set a little bit for the next night, thought I would have really liked to hear "Swan Dive" in the Chapel.

Overall, great stuff. Ani is a consummate performer. I do have to say that she didn't seem to be her glowing self these nights, almost like this touring thing was becoming a job for her. Or maybe it was just a bad couple days. But keep in mind, Ani on her bad days will probably blow away most performers on their best.

Freelance Whalesat Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH, US

DJ Ruptureat Cleveland Museum Of Art, Cleveland, OH, US

Songkick said last year that they wanted to become the largest global database of concerts in the world. It looks like they may have got there already.

Their latest figures say the site now carries information on 100,000 upcoming music events, with over 2,500 added daily added from about 80 sources. These include Ticketmaster down to small local listings papers, as well as by the Songkick user community. It’s particularly that aspect which has supercharged the site: user uploads are now up 900% year on year.

The live music industry’s benchmark for coverage until now has been Pollstar’s data – and their homepage currently says they know of “11,978 Artists and 78,818 Events”. Songkick’s numbers quoted are from internal data.

4/5/10

I was just reminded that Chris Pureka has a new album and tour, and while I'm a little disappointed she's not coming to Cleveland (it's been forever), I'm still excited for her new full-length album "How I Learned to See in the Dark" which will be out April 13th. More details below...

Some more details:

ADVANCE COPIES AVAILABLE! There are a limited number of signed advance copies of the new record available atcdbaby.com. These copies will ship today and will get to you well before the April 13threlease date! You can buy them here: www.cdbaby.com/cpureka5

“MAKING OF” VIDEOS:

My go-to film extraordinaire, Marion Cunningham, came into the studio with us last March and filmed footage for several behind the scenes, studio video segments. They include footage of me and Merrill Garbus producing and recording “How I Learned to See in the Dark”, interviews, and studio footage of members of band. The first one focuses on the song “Wrecking Ball” and is up now on Logo’s New Now Next website. Go check it out here:www.tinyurl.com/newnownext

3/25/10

You know... I'm just going to add a "Vinyl" tag / category to this blog. I don't know if more and more information is coming out about vinyl, or if it's just that I'm paying more attention. I do know that I'm seeing much more vinyl being sold at shows now...

Here's a little tip for your not-so-new vinyl... like the stuff you're Mom just gave you, from when she was so excited to hear that you're playing vinyl and wanted to resurrect her collection. Just sayin'.

Use Wood Glue to Clean and Restore Old LPs

Cleaning LPs with a bottle of wood glue is hardly an intuitive way to get more mileage out of that bottle of glue in your workshop or clean a beloved LP. The results, however, are quite impressive.

Over at the music and audio-gear enthusiast site Audio Karma, one industrious user decided to test the old rumors in the audiophile community that you could clean a record with wood glue. The photo above shows a before and after shot of a record he cleaned using the technique. Why would you want to use this method? The before photo shows the results of using a commercial cleaner at home—not very impressive—and getting LPs professionally cleaned can cost $2-3 and up per album.

3/21/10

I still haven't given up on one of my favorite Britpop bands... James. It's big and it's British, and you can enjoy their new "mini album" in it's entirety until April 5th. (The Night Before is out April 19th.)

3/12/10

I have some pics for this show, but I'll just be embedding some video from KingoftheCastle7, letting the music doing more of the talking.

Lucy is something special. Her songs are beautiful and voice is even more so. She has such a charm and wit about her that makes her a pleasure to see in concert. Watching her open for Girlyman was a real treat as well... (and the place was packed!)

I think I've seen Girlyman like 4-5 times now and this was the first where they've added a new band member. They have a drummer with a full drum-set which added a fresh perspective to their performance. Good stuff.

3/11/10

Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness" With MGMT and Ratatat Gets Another Video

"Pursuit of Happiness", Kid Cudi's spaced-out MGMT/Ratatat collaboration, already had a video. It involved both Drake and slow-motion champagne spillage, and it wasn't that good.

But an alternate video for the same song made its way onto the internet earlier this week, as New York magazine points out. And hey! This one is way better! Director Megaforce brings out some gravitational weirdness that could well make you nauseous, and Ratatat actually show up in this one. Watch it below:

I really like the Happy Dog. Dare I might say it's my favorite bar on the West Side... though with the plethora of bars over there, I can't say it with any definiteness... though their decor, hot dog schtick, and having live bands would be pretty hard to beat. My only gripes is the inability to find out (digitally) who will be performing, as well as the loudness of the place. It's like, really loud. But those aren't deal breakers.

I've seen Bill Fox at the Happy Dog before, and was looking forward to going back and seeing Coffinberry perform. But you know, I don't have much to say about the show... both were enjoyable. The environment and conversation was pleasantly distracting. I also forgot my camera, so you're stuck with iPhone pics.

and since it's not easy to find out who's playing... here are a couple of the remaining, upcoming shows. (Just put the JJ Magazine show on my calendar)

3/10/10

The decision to see Frontier Ruckus on this night wasn't necessarily an easy one. They were competing with Bishop Allen's performance at the Spot (CWRU). My first deciding factor would be to go to see the band I hadn't already seen - but I had seen both once before. The next factor is the venue... This was tough, the Spot is free and closer, but any kind of bluegrass in the Beachland Tavern is always a step ahead... Frontier Ruckus it was.

Not an ounce of disappointment was had. Seeing them previously open for Jessica Lea Mayfield, I knew instantly that I wanted to see them as a primary act... Even before the show started, I bought a vinyl copy of their most recent album Old Orion Town. These guys are just so nice and have such a great energy about them on stage... The best part about this performance was hearing some new songs from a new record that's on the way. Can't wait.

Starting the road back to currency with my concert "reviews." I've been behind before, and luckily worse that this... I'll be quick and painless - I promise.

For this show - it was great seeing Chris O'Brien at the Barking Spider yet again... This time was particularly nice because he had an electric guitar accompaniment, as well as a new album (Litte Red) that I was excited to get my hands on. Chatting with him afterward is always a treat as well...

3/5/10

Just got this update from Righteous Babe. What a great collection of songs, and for a great purpose...

ANI FEATURED ON FREE BEST OF BONNAROO CLIMATE CHANGE COMPILATION

Our friends at HeadCount and the NRDC Action Fund put together a Best of Bonnaroo compilation featuring “Fuel,” recorded live at Ani’s 2009 Bonnaroo performance, to encourage action on climate change. Ani joins Wilco, Jack Johnson, My Morning Jacket and more in donating a live track and best of all, you can download it FREE! Visit www.musicforaction.org to get your copy, while you are there you can also email your elected officials to encourage them to pass legislation to cut global warming, build a clean energy economy and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Participate in change! Reward yourself with free music!

3/4/10

When Jason Kincaid tried out the iPhone app online music streaming startup Grooveshark built and showed off in July 2009, he wrote that it was great but that he “wouldn’t expect this to pop up in the App Store any time soon”. He was right on both counts.

Grooveshark now says it has given up on its ambitions to get approved for the official App Store, claiming that Apple has been “ritually rejecting” the app for “primary selfish reasons”. We’ve heard that song before.

The startup says it spent many months developing the iPhone application, and on occasion went months without a hearing a peep out of Cupertino.

Denied access to the App Store, Grooveshark decided to head underground and is today releasing the app on Cydia, enabling people who have jailbroken their iPhone and iPod touch devices to enjoy it – and it is actually pretty cool.

3/1/10

But it's not about the music... Just really wish these guys (Freelance Whales) were coming to Cleveland on their new tour. Closest they're coming is Chicago (4/4/10). Check out their new album, Weathervanes.

2/25/10

I've been sitting on this for a while... It's a pretty impressive list of covers and definitely worth checking (Neko Case, Okkervil River, Ana Egge, etc.) - and it's for a good cause.

Okkervil River and Joni Mitchell, before the goldrush

Since you know you’re probably not gonna quit your job and Teach For America (unless you are one of my idealistic college-student readers in which case: DO it!) there’s a new compilation out that will let you toss them a few kopeks instead to help them carry on their noble educational goals.

Before The Goldrush is a benefit album of freshfaced up-and-coming types (along with some moderate heavies like The Swell Season and Neko Case) covering some of the very best songwriters of the halcyon days gone by. The song selection is spot-on fantastic, and all the proceeds benefit Teach For America.

2/24/10

Clevelanders have had their panties all up in a bunch because of this "miserable cities" Forbes article... Rather than address the lameness of the article directly, I thought I'd post a response from Cleveland's own Mr. Gnome.

Cleveland: My Home Sweet Miserable Home
Hello Friends,

Hope your winter has been treating you wonderfully. It seems to never stop snowing here in beautiful northeast Ohio, which forces us to hibernate, participate in substance abuse, experiment in group sex, and write schizophrenic music. Sounds like fun, right? Well, according to Forbes.com, Cleveland is not so fun. Check it below - Cleveland is America's Most Miserable City for this year:

This is mean and untrue and us Clevelanders do not appreciate these harsh accusations...so as we're busy slashing our wrists and drinking ourselves into alcohol-induced comas we will laugh at what the rest of America thinks of us, because in the end, we will prevail!

So I don't really have a "Video Tuesday" segment of this blog... in fact I don't really have any schticks like that, but maybe I should. Anyway, I've been receiving a bevy of new videos and thought I'd share them all together.

Though to start - I'm throwing in a Ani DiFranco video - celebrating the fact that I'm about to see her TWO nights in a row. First at Kent Stage tonight, then at Finney Chapel in Oberlin tomorrow night. Epic.

The rest of these are all worthy bands / songs / videos. Spend a couple moments with them

2/17/10

Since the purchase of my new turntable, I'm becoming enamored the vinyl revolution. And what better place to be than in Cleveland, which boasts both a kick ass Record Store (Music Saves) and one of the few Record Presses in the country (Gotta Groove Records). Check it out below.

2/8/10

Anatomy of a radio station format change
Published: Sunday, February 7, 2010 / By John Benson

Over the past two decades, the radio market has become a very corporate place, featuring three players — Clear Channel, CBS and Radio One — battling for dominance.

And there’s not much room for the little guy.

There is at least one local entity — Elyria Lorain Broadcasting, which is owned by Lorain County Printing and Publishing — that has not just eked out a living but thrived, thanks to smooth jazz station The Wave WNWV-FM 107.3.

After years of success, however, late last month ownership pulled the plug on the niche format in favor of a brand-new adult album alternative (AAA) station, which finds “Rocco” Ric Bennett, erstwhile WMMS-FM 100.7 disc jockey and WENZ-FM 107.9 program director/disc jockey, resurfacing as the visionary of the new direction.

All that is only the beginning. This year's Pitchfork Music Festival will feature more bands than ever before and a longer day of music on Friday.

Tickets go on sale at noon Central time today at TicketWeb. Single-day passes cost $40, and three-day passes cost $90. (There are no two-day passes this year.) Keep watching this space for more details.

We finally made the dubious purchase of a video camera, so we'll be posting some updates from the tour on my You Tube Channel. The first installment is something called "Soundcheck Sessions". On tour your nightly sound check ends up functioning as your rehearsal, so it's your time to try out new ideas, new songs, etc. It's also your time to screw up mightily. We're going to post a few nuggets from time to time, for good or for ill. The first installment is a version of "Nobody's Man" from Des Moines, IA last night. My full band made the trip to Chicago, and it's always a nice treat to play with them, so we dialed in the "loud" treatment of the song. You can check it out here.

2/4/10

"The bustling, 20,000-square-foot complex is home to 14 full-time employees. In addition to two recording suites, it houses a performance space for small concerts and rehearsals, as well as the offices of Reversed Image Unlimited, Seifert's record label and artist-development company. Under the same roof, he also operates a music-publishing firm and a post-production facility for film and television projects."

"Friends questioned his sanity. Yet where others saw folly, Seifert saw opportunity. The question I got the most was: 'Why are you building a studio at all, and if you're going to do it, why in Cleveland?' A lot of big studios in other cities are closing, but I think a lot of them are closing because they couldn't afford to have that much space in Los Angeles or New York City."

2/3/10

I received some terrible news this past Saturday, that a new and exciting friend of mine passed away. A car crash... Why am I writing about it here? Well, because Trey was quickly becoming one of my new best friends in music. He had an insatiable appetite that of which I could relate - and he had impeccable taste and style. We had just started going to shows together, and had many more planned.

This makes me incredibly sad... though I can't even image the effect this has on people that have known him longer. He had an indomitable spirit and a happiness about him that was infectious. It was hard to not love Trey.

He was often the first person I thought of when going through my music news and links, though I often learned more from him than any online news source... There are just so many things that I know he'd be super excited about. Here are just a couple, which I'll share with you.

1/25/10

The Hood Internet Rocked! Or Rapped... Whatever. These guys sure know how to move a dance floor. Photos weren't great (iPhone), but appropriately they reflect the moment. Cleveland needs a dance night like this every week... It would make everyone happier.

1/24/10

We saw Shilpa before her performance, talking to some drunk guy at the bar. She seemed sweet and even a little demure. That changed as soon as she took the stage. It looked like she had gone in back, transformed, and came out with a fire in her belly. With wilder hair, her mouth contorted as she belted out these songs and worked her Harmonium over.

It wasn't packed this night, but that didn't matter. The crowd was energized, and it was hard not to be. I have to admit, I wasn't quite sure how to take it when they started. It was harder than I was expecting, but a couple songs into to, I was definitely pickin' up what she was puttin' down. She deserves all praise.

Trying something out...Thought I'd create a page for Only Music Left on FaceBook as a way for people to get updates if they want 'em. I think it's still a better idea to subscribe to the RSS Feed, because then you'll get to see the content in all it's original glory (embedded media & all). But this is at least an easy way to get headlines out to friends.

Remember you can still "fan" the site but hide updates if there are too many for you... but give me a little time and see what you think first.